Some habits are good, some not so good. How can you tell if a habit is good or bad? Good habits are hard to make and easy to break. Bad habits are easy to make and hard to break. Many publishers are in the easy-to-make habit of selling only through bookstores. They market each new title in the same way they did all previous books. While that habit is not inherently bad, it could limit your sales, revenue and profits. Evaluate your habits and seek a different way to increase your sales. Here are Ten Tips For Making Good Marketing Habits.

You cannot force your employees to change, but you can help them want to change.

The decision to change your company’s culture -- of doing things as they have always been done -- should come from the top. However, decisions by themselves are neither good nor bad. It is the action following the decision that creates a positive or negative result.

Use the principles of 12-step programs to help changes habits. They use incentives, celebration, mentoring, peer pressure and support to adopt a new habit.

The feeling that you should not rock the boat if nothing appears to be going wrong will trap you in the status quo, limiting your company’s growth potential.

Radical change is usually not welcome – or necessary. Instead of selling only through bookstores, consider selling through (and to) both bookstore and non-bookstore buyers.

A result is a temporary condition – either good or bad. Change the actions that lead to bad results and reinforce the cause of good outcomes. The goal is progress, not perfection.

Instead of simply comparing the change in sales figures from one period to another, look for the reasons behind the change.

Reinforce the positive actions employees have taken to cause change and celebrate short-term wins.

Increases in the bottom line come from increasing the top-line revenue or cutting costs. Which do you think will result in greater long-term growth?

Brian Jud is the Executive Director of the Association of Publishers for Special Sales (APSS – www.bookapss.org– formerly SPAN). He is also the author of How to Make Real Money Selling Books. Brian offers commission-based sales of books to buyers in non-bookstore markets. Contact Brian at P. O. Box 715, Avon, CT 06001-0715; (860) 675-1344; brianjud@bookmarketing.com or www.premiumbookcompany.com twitter.com/bookmarketing